Sewing machine



SEWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 22, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l memzbw WWW s /M WW Jam 28), 1%. J. GOULDBOURN SEWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 22, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jam 28, 1936. J. GOULDBOURN SEWING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 22, 1954 Fatentecl Jan. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEWING MACHINE Application January 22, 1934, Serial No. 707,646 In Great Britain January 30, 1933 17 Claims.

This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to sewing machines, and is particularly, but by no means exclusively, concerned with machines suitable for sewing together the parts of suit cases, attach cases or the like.

In U. S. patent to Ricks and Reid No. 1,695,718, dated December 18, 1928 there is disclosed a horn device having a horn which is arranged to extend into the interior of a suit case or the like and to maintain two parts of the case which are being sewn together in a right angle relation to each other by pressing them rearwardly against faces of an external work-support which faces engage the said parts on the outside of the case and are arranged at right angles to each other, the said horn device and the work support being so arranged on the machine that a case supported by them will be held in such angular relation to the path of movement of a curved oscillating awl and needle that the awl and needle pass through both parts of the case near to the corner formed between them to allow the seam which unites the parts to pass through the Work close to the corner.

In the horn device disclosed in that specification there is mounted in a universal manner on the work entering end of the horn a small tablet or roll which is of a cylindrical shape and is arranged to engage the two parts of the case or the like being sewn together and to press them against the mutually perpendicular faces of the work support, one of the two parts of the case being pressed against one face of the work support by the peripheral surface of the roll, and the other part being pressed against the other face of the work support by the rearward end face of the roll. Such an arrangement has proved to be generally satisfactory in use.

If, however, in an endeavor to arrange for the two parts of the case to be'supported by the roll close up to the apex of the angle formed between the inner faces of the two parts, the corner formed between the peripheral surface of the said roll and its rear end face is allowed to remain substantially square or is only slightly bevelled or rounded off there arises a serious danger that, particularly when working on thin work in which the needle and awl strike through the parts of the case into the interior of the latter, the awl and needle in passing through the work close to the corner formed between the two parts of the case will strike against the roll, thereby mutilating the latter and possibly causing breakage of the needle and awl. If, however, in an endeavor to avoid this difficulty the corner between the periphery of the roll and its rear end face is substantially bevelled or rounded off, the effective Work-engaging areas of the rear end face of the roll and of its periphery are substantially reduced, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the control by the roll of the parts being sewn together. For convenience in sewing around the end corners of the case and for obtaining adequate support of the work during the sewing around these corners, it is desirable that the roll should not be of unduly large diameter.

It is one of the several objects of the present invention to provide a convenient form of internal work supporting device by which effective support will be given to the parts of a case or the like quite close to the actual sewing point during the sewing operation, but which will nevertheless be of such a construction that the danger of the needle or awl striking against it as they pass through the said parts will be obviated or at least very largely diminished.

In a machine of the kind referred to in the prior specification previously mentioned, the external work support may be adjusted angularly to vary the direction of the path of the needle and awl through the work and thereby vary the angle, relatively to the two parts being sewn together, at which the seam which unites the two parts will extend through them. No means for adjusting the horn device angularly in accordance with adjustment of the angular position of the work support, to allow the horn device properly to enter and engage the work whatever the angular position of the work support, is however described in that specification, the universal mounting of the tablet on the horn being relied on to deal with changes in position of the work support.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide convenient means whereby a horn device of the nature referred to may be adjusted to correspond to adjustment in the angular position of the external work support.

Further, a horn device having a work-engaging tablet or roll of the type referred to in the prior specification above mentioned is not particularly well suited for incorporation in a machine in which the work is fed through the machine while the work-engaging roll is pressing against the work since the friction between the two parts of the work being sewn together and the work-engaging faces of the roll is likely to be so great as to drag the horn laterally with the work against the action of one of the centralizing spring plungers with which such a horn device is provided. Such an arrangement is likely to give rise to the danger that the work-engaging roll will have been carried away from' the point at which the awl pierces the work at the time when the awl is caused to pierce thework and, in such a case, the roll will not support the Work as adequately as is desired against the piercing action of the awl. Further, if the horn device is moved laterally with the work by reason of the fact that it is pressed against the work during work feeding movements and thereafter moves back to its central position on the release of pressure between the work and the horn device-which occurs in each cycle, the horn device will vibrate to and fro along the direction of work feed during the sewing of the seam. Although this may not give rise to objectionable vibration, if the machine runs only at a moderate speed, it is likely to give rise to considerable and very objectionable vibration if the machine is run at a relatively high speed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a work-engaging horn which, while able to move laterally against spring pressure and while giving adequate support to the work during the sewing operation will, nevertheless, be of such a construction that the work can be fed through the machine while the horn is engaging it firmly without danger that friction between the work and the horn will cause the latter to move with the work during its feeding movements. Such an arrangement will assist in allowing the machine to run smoothly at a high speed since, except when sewing an end corner, no. movement of the horn device will take place along the line of feed and, therefore, no vibration will be set up in the machine due to movement of the horn device in this direction.

The present invention and the manner in which the above and other objects are achieved will become clear from a consideration of the following description, with reference to the acompanying drawings of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a right hand side elevation showing sufiicient of the head of the illustrative embodiment to allow its construction to be fully understood;

f 7 Figure 2'is. a front elevation of the parts seen in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a right hand side elevation, on an enlarged scale of certain parts associated with adjusting mechanism for an external work support of the illustrative embodiment;

Figure 4 is a detail view showing certain parts associated with actuating mechanism for a work entering horn; and

Figure 5 is a plan View showing certain further parts for adjusting the external work support.

The illustrative embodiment will be considered as forming part of a sewing machine having stitch forming instrumentalities which are similar to and are arranged to be operated in sub- "stantially the same time-relation as the stitch forming instrumentalities of the machine disclosed in the specification of co-pending application of Gouldbourn, Kestell and Keall Serial No. 688,480, filed September 7, 1933. The work feed- 4 ing instrumentalities of the machine of the present illustrative embodiment however, are, as

' hereinafter described, of a different construction from the work feeding instrumentalities disclosed in that application.

The work feeding instrumentalities of the ma' chine disclosed in the prior application just referred to comprise a work table which is moved to and fro in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis andacooperating work gripping presser foot which is mounted on the work table and moves with the latter to assist in feeding the work.. The said work table and presser are done away with in the machine of the present illustrative embodiment and an external work-support l for a case or the like having two work engaging faces arranged at right angles to each other, and somewhat similar to that referred to as 28 in the patent to Ricks and Reid No. 1,695,718 dated December 18, 1928, is mounted in the machine and is arranged to be moved along the line of feed (i. e. from right to left) through the machine to effect feedingmovements of the work,heldagainst it by a horn hereinafter described, and to return to its original position after having made each work feeding movement. For this purpose the external work support is coupled by suitable connections indicated generally at 3 in Figures 1 and 2 to a cam operated lever 5 which is arranged to be actuated by a cam '5 mounted on the horizontal main shaft 9 of the machine. This cam causes each work feeding movement of the external work support I to extend evenly throughout a portion of'the machine cycle during which the main shaft of the machine is rotating through the line of feed to impart to the work feeding movements additional .to those imparted to it by the external work support in such a manner that the work is moved continuously, as opposed to intermittently through the machine by the combined feeding actions of the'external work support and the needle and awl. For this purpose the needle and awl, which remain always in one and the same plane, are carried by segments of usual shape which .are coupled to an axially movable shaft indicated at 15 in Figure 2 which is supported in fixed bearings behind, and slightly higher than, the external work support and extends transversely of the machine, 1. e. in a direction parallel to the line of feed. The shaft i5 is coupled at its left hand end by a series of links indicated generally at i? to a cam-actuated lever, not shown, which is actuated by a cam secured on a vertical cam shaft near the left hand side of the machine head. This latter cam causes the needle and awl to move along the line of feed throughout about one hundred and eighty-five degrees of each machine cycle, the feeding movements of the external work support and of the needle and awl taking place at the same speed and overlapping to some extent. When the external work support has finished its work feeding movement in each cycle, it is returned during the remainder of the cycle to its original position to resume immediately another work feeding movement and, as the external work support is thus moved, the feeding movement of the work is continued by the awl which will be extending through the work at this time. When the external work support has once more resumed its work feeding movement, the needle and awl are moved idly back- 'wards along the'line of feed to their original positions preparatory to moving forward once more with the external work support and the work. The means for imparting to the needle and awl their work feeding movements is so arranged that, whatever the length of stitch being made, the needle and awl, at the end of each work feeding movement, reach a constant position close against the right hand side of a rotary shuttle is so that a thread lifter also positioned close to the right hand side of the shuttle can engage the loop of needle thread taken up through the work by the needle to spread the loop so that the beak 2! of the shuttle can enter the loop to lift it out of the needle barb and pass it over the shuttle for the formation of a stitch.

The horn aforementioned is arranged to extend inside a case or the like supported on the external work support I aforementioned. This horn, indicated at 23, is curved and is generally similar in its shape and somewhat similar in its mounting on the machine to the horn referred to as l in Patent No. 1,695,? 18 above referred to, that is to say, that the horn has three limbs similar to those referred to as '7, 8, and 9 in the prior specification last mentioned and is secured to the lower end of a spindle 25, which spindle is freely rotatable in an upwardly extending bearing 2's. The bearing 2! is freely pivoted on two axially aligned pins 29 lying perpendicular to the bearing 2? and extending forwardly and rearwardly of the machine. The pins 29 are secured in the forward and rearward sides of a ring 3! which ring is itself pivoted on two laterally extending pins 33 secured in the forward ends of rearwardly extending arms 35 hereinafter more particularly referred to.

The work engaging portion of the horn 23 instead of comprising a tablet or roll which is universally mounted on the lower end of the horn as is the case in the arrangement disclosed in Patent No. 1,695,718 comprises two small frusto-conical rolls 3'! and 39 (see particularly Figure 3) secured on the opposite ends of an upwardly extending pin 4! freely rotatable in the lower end of the horn. The external lower end of the horn is flattened, as indicated in Figure 1 to a thickness of about three sixteenths of an inch and a width of about five eighths of an inch, and this flattened portion extends more or less horizontally in a direction almost to bisect the angle formed between the two work engaging faces of the external work support. The said freely rotatable pin ill on which the two frustoconical rolls 3'! and 39 are secured is so positioned in the end portion of the horn that it is coaxial with the axis of the spindle 25 aforesaid on which the horn is supported and about the axis of which the horn can be swung from side to side as required during the sewing operation. Since the freely rotatable pin ll and the spindle 25 are coaxial, swinging movement of the horn about the axis of the spindle 25 will not cause any disturbance in the position of the frusto-conical rolls 3?, 39 relatively to the external work-support l. The opposite ends of the pin it extend above and below the flattened end portion of the horn and the one 37 of the rolls is secured on the upper end of the pin above the flattened end portion of the horn while the other 39 is secured on the lower end of the pin beneath the flattened end portion of the horn, the base (i. e., the larger end) of the roll 37 on the upper end of the pin being at the lower end of the roll and the base (i. e. the larger end) of the roll 39' on the lower end of the pin being at the upper end of the roll. The conical faces of both rolls are inclined at an angle of forty five degrees to their bases and the conical face of the upper roll 37 at its extreme rear side lies always parallel to the upstanding work engaging face 43 of the external work support l, while the conical face of the lower roll 39 at its extreme rear side lies parallel with the lower Work engaging face 45 of the external work support. Thus when the horn is urged into engagement with work supported on the external work support, the rear sides of the two rolls will serve to press the work firmly against the two mutually perpendicular faces of the external work support. The two rolls are spaced apart along the pin so that their bases are about a quarter of an inch apart (i. e. somewhat further apart than the thickness of the end portion of the horn) and the freely rotatable pin M which carries them is freely movable axially in the end portion of the horn so that the rolls can move upwardly or downwardly together relatively to the end portion of the horn to enable the rolls to seat evenly on the inner faces of both parts of the work which are to be sewn together, even if the two parts .are of unequal thickness. The diameter of the base of the upper roll 3? is about three quarters of an inch and this roll is about a quarter of an inch thick, while the diameter of the base of the lower roll is about seven eighths of an inch and this roll is sli htly greater than a quarter of an inch in thickness. The distance from the axis of the freely rotatable pin 4| carrying the rolls to the extreme rear end of the portion of the horn which extends between the rolls is about five sixteenths of an inch so that the rear sides of the conical faces of the rolls extend rearwardly of the shroud the end of the horn from contact with the work.

Although the end portion of the horn extends in a direction almost to bisect the angle between the two work engaging faces of the external support, it does not, in fact, normally bisect this angle, but extends in a direction parallel to but slightly higher than a line bisecting this angle so that it lies slightly further from that part of the work supported on the lower face 55 of the external work support than from that part of the work supported against the upwardly extending face 53 of the work support. This arrangement allows the roll 39 on the lower end of the freely rotatable pin ll to be of a somewhat larger diameter than the roll 3'! on the upper end of the pin (as above indicated) thus ensuring that the part of the work engaged by the lower roll will be engaged over a relatively large area to ensure that it will be held firmly on the external work support against the thrust of the awl as it rises to pierce the work.

The larger lower roll 39 will, since it has a wider work engaging face than the upper roll extend somewhat closer to the apex of the angle formed between the inner faces of the two parts being sewn together than will the smaller upper roll, but as the awl and needle rock about the axis of the shaft 55 which is positioned at a somewhat higher level in the machine than the apex of the said angle, the point of the awl will be somewhat further rearwardly in the machine as it reaches the level of the base of the lower roll than it will be as it reaches the level of the base of the upper roll, as indicated by the dash and dot line X in Figure 3 which shows the path of the awl through the external work support and, therefore, a somewhat larger lower roll canbe used with advantage. The fact that the rolls are spaced so far apart along the pin 4! and the fact that the rear end of the horn lies forwardly of the extreme rear sides of both rolls provides ample clearance between the rolls, even on the thinnest work where the awl may break through the inner faces of the parts being sewn into the interior of the case, for the awl to pass from the lower part of the work through the upwardly'extending part without danger of striking against either of the rolls. Similarly, there is little no danger that the needle in piercing the work will strike against the rolls. Such arrangement gives exceptionally goo-d control of the work over relatively wide areas.

As above stated, the work is arranged to be fed through the machine in a continuous manner by the cooperation of the'external work support and the needle and awl. It is desirable that the work-engaging rolls 3'! and 39 shall, during the feeding of the work through the machine, always occupy such a constant position along the line of feed that they will press the work against the work support substantially in that region through which the awl will rise in piercingthe work, preparatory to its moving with the work towards the shuttle and thread lifter, in order to overcome the tendency of the work to 'rise away from the work support as the awl pierces it. I

For this purpose, the pins 29 aforementioned are so positioned laterally of the machine that their common axis is offset to the right, from the position which the needle will occupy when it is close to the shuttle ready for the thread lifter to engage the loop of thread carried up by the needle barb, a distance equal to the length of an average stitch (i. e. some three-sixteenths of an inch). Since'the work is fed continuously throughout the whole of each cycle and since the awl (and the needle) move with the work throughout only approximately half the cycle and occupy a constant position close to the shuttle at the end of their movement with the work, it follows that approximately half the work feeding movement in each cycle will take place while the awl is not partaking of the work feeding movement and therefore the point in the work at which the awl rises to pierce it in each cycle will be spaced away to the right from the constant position which the needle occupies when the thread lifter engages the thread loop taken up by the needle a distance approximately equal to half a stitch length. The rolls 37 and 39 on the horn are constantly pressed against the work by means hereinafter referred to and although the pin 4! which carries them is freely rotatable in the horn, the action of the moving work on the horn is sufiicient to cant the horn in a clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 2 about the axis of the pins 29. The extent of this canting movement of the horn is, however, limited by adjustable spring pressed plunger ll positione-cl at the right hand side of the bearing 21 for the horn and carried by .an upwardly extending bracket 59 fast on the ring 3|. The plunger 4? is arranged to be so adjusted that when the horn bearing 27 iscaused to abut lightly against 'it by the canting of the horn due to the action of the moving work on the rolls 37,39. the latter will be positioned directly over that region of the work through which the awl will strike in piercing the work when stitches of average as it is being turned on its corner.

moves into contact with it and, therefore, the

sprin pressed plunger provides in effect a positive stop to ensure that the rolls 3T, 39 will remain in a predetermined position during the feed- 7 ing of the work. The plunger 41 is acted on a spring the compression of which may be adjusted, by a knurled stud 53. The plunger, spring and stud are all carried in a sleeve 55 which is threaded into the bracket 49 and may be rotated to adjust the plunger towards or away from the horn bearing 21 to vary the extent of the canting movement of the horn effected by the moving work and thereby to vary the position laterally of the machine which the rolls 31, 39 normally occupy during the operation of the machine in order that the axis of the rolls may lie in the same plane considered forwardly and rearwardly of the machine, as the awl when the latter pierces the work whatever length of stitch is being made.

Similarly, however, to the horn arrangement disclosed in Patent No. 1,695,718 aforesaid, the horn of the present illustrative machine'can, to facilitate sewing roundv a right hand corner, be swung further in a clockwise direction (compressing the spring 5i behind the plunger 41) to allow the rolls 31, 39 to be moved sufiiciently far towards the left past the position close to the shuttle which the needle will occupy in serving around a right hand corner, to enable a stitch to be made through the work close to the right hand, wall of the corner.

When sewing around an end corner of a suit case or the like, it is frequently desired to sew a stitch in the actual corner, and inorder that this may be effected, it is the usual practice when using a machine of the kind disclosed in Patent No. 1,695,718 to cut out the feeding movements of the work so that the operator may himself manoeuvre the work to ensure that the stitch is sewn precisely in the corner.

In the present illustrative machine in which the needle and awl partake of the feeding movements of the work, two hand levers indicated at 5'! in Figure 2 are provided either of which may be moved to render the mechanism for imparting work feeding movements to the needle and awl and to the external work support, inoperative.

The mechanism for imparting the work feeding movements to the needle, awl and external work support is of such a nature that, when it is rendered inoperative, the needle is automatically brought to the position close to the shuttle in which the thread lifter will be able to lift from it the loop of thread taken up through the work byit, and the awl will, of course, be in an alignment with the needle. When the feeding movements of the work are cut out in the illustrative machine by means of one of the hand levers 51 to enable a stitch to be sewn in the corner, it is at a least desirable that the work-engaging rolls 31,

39 should be moved towards the shuttle into such a position that the axis of the pin ll which carries them lies as nearly as possible in the same plane as the needle to allow the work to be turned easily on its corner for the reception of the stitch and to exercise the best control on the Work For this purpose, a movable abutment 59, mounted on a pivot pin SI, carried by the ring 3|, is provided at the left hand side of the horn bearing 21 above the The canting movement pins 29 and this abutment is arranged to be rocked when the feeding movements of the work are cut out, in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 2, to swing the horn bearing 2'! against the action of the spring pressed abutment 41, also in a clockwise direction about the pins 29 to move the work-engaging rolls 3?, 39 towards the left until the axis of the pin 4! lies directly in front of the needle.

For rocking the abutment 59 in the manner described when the feeding movements of the work are cut out, there is provided a rocking lever 63 (see particularly Figure l) which is mounted on a pin 55 hereinafter referred to, the forward end of this lever carrying an adjustable stop screw B'I which is arranged to lie beneath the underside of a lug 69 on the abutment 59 and the rear end of the lever being con nected by a link 'II to one arm of a bell crank lever E3, the other arm of which carries two laterally extending pins 15 spaced apart somewhat. The two hand levers 5! by which the feed is adjusted are coupled to a vertical shaft I! (see particularly Figure 2) the lever shown at the left in Figure 2 being fastened directly to the shaft and the lever shown at the right in Figure 2 being pivotally mounted on the machine frame and connected through a link to an arm secured to the shaft. The shaft TI has secured to its upper end a short lever I9, carrying a vertically extending pin BI which projects upwardly between the two pins 15 on the bell crank lever I3. When one of the hand levers 51 is moved to cut out the feed, the vertical shaft TI is rocked and through the pins I5 and SI, rocks the bell crank lever I3, thus swinging the lever 53 and causing the adjustable stop screw 9! to rise into contact with the lug 59 on the abutment 59 and rock the abutment to swing the horn about the pins 29, thus causing the work engaging rolls 3?, 39 to move to a position directly in front of the needle in which position they remain until the hand lever is moved to cause the feeding of the work to be recommenced.

The exact position to which the rolls 3'5, 39 are moved by the adjustment of the hand lever 51 may be controlled by heightwise adjustment of the adjustable stop screw Bl which determines the extent of rocking movement of the abutment 59 imparted to it by the movement of the lever 63.

It is often desired, when the sewing has proceeded up to an end corner of a case and the case has been turned on the corner to allow the sewing to commence along another side, that the first stitch made in this side of the case shall be positioned close up to the end wall of the case which will be upstanding at the left hand side of the needle. It is customary when sewing around such corners to stop the machine when the corner is approached and thereafter to allow the machine to make one or more single revolutions to insert single stitches as the work is turned by the operator such machines as are customarily used for sewing suit cases or the like being provided with suitable clutches for this purpose. In order that the awl and needle may pierce the work quite close to the end wall, the work-engaging rolls 3'3, '59 may, assuming the feed not to have been'completely cut out at this time, be urged towards the right away from in front of the needle before the machine is started into operation once more by pressing the said end wall of the case against them, the horn pivoting idly meanwhile about the pins 29. The

extent to which the horn may pivot about the pins 29 as the rolls 3], 39 are moved towards the right by the work is limited by the abutment 59 which is provided with an adjustable stud 83 which bears upon one of the arms 35 hereinbefore referred to. By rotation of this stud, the upper end of the abutment may be caused to approach or recede from the horn bearing 21 and therefore to limit the extent of swinging movement of the horn, thereby controlling the distance from the end wall of the case at which the awl and needle will pierce the work for the formation of the first stitch.

The horn of the present illustrative machine is arranged to be urged constantly into engagement with work supported on the external work support at all times, the horn being urged relatively lightly against the work except at the times when the awl pierces it and at these times the pressure of the horn on the work is increased to prevent the work rising from the external work support under the piercing action of the rising awl. To allow the horn to be urged towards the external work support in this manner, the ring 3I which carries the horn bearing 2'! has secured to its upwardly extending bracket 49 a downwardly and rearwardly extending arm 35, the rear end of which is connected by a rod 81 to the forward end of a lever 89 which is mounted on a fixed transverse pivot 9|. A rod 93 couples the lever 89 to a treadle, not shown, and a spring normally acts to lift the treadle and the lever 89 and to urge the horn towards the external work support under relatively light pressure by tilting the ring 3| and therefore the horn bearing 21 forwardly about the pins 33. By depressing the said treadle the horn can be caused to move away from the external work support to facilitate the introduction and removal of the work from the machine. To cause the horn to press against the work with increased pressure as the awl is piercing it, the arm 85 has also pivoted on a rotatable pin 95 (Figure 4) a tubular sleeve 91 which lies by the side of the rod 81. A threaded rod 99 extending upwardly through the sleeve 9'! and the pin 95 has a shoulder IUI which bears on a trunnion I03 carried by the forward end of a short rising and falling lever I05. A sleeve member IIlI is threaded on the rod 99 and a compression spring I99 is housed between a nut on the lower end of the sleeve and the upper end of the tubular sleeve 91 so that as the lever I95 rises, the arm 85 is lifted yieldingly to increase the pressure of the horn on the work. The rising and falling movements of the lever I05 are obtained from a cam-actuated lever I I I which engages a cam on the main horizontal shaft 9, the lever I95 being connected to the lever I II by a rod I I3. The cam which actuates the lever III is so timed in relation to the movements of the sewing instrumentalities as to apply increased pressure to the horn just before the awl commences to pierce the work and to maintain this increased pressure until after the awl has completely pierced the work. The rising and falling lever I95 is freely mounted on an eccentric portion of a transverse pin II5 which is mounted in fixed bearings and carries at its right hand end a small lever I H by which the pin may be rotated to vary the heightwise position of the lever I05 and thus to vary the precise time in the machine cycle at which the trunnion I93 comes into contact with the shoulder IOI to apply the additional pressure to the horn through the spring I99. The small lever II'I carries a stud which moves in an arcuate slot II9 during rotation of the pin H and the lever is arranged to be locked in any position to which it may have been adjusted by a lock nut I2I threaded on said stud.

The horn of the illustrative machine is adjustable heightwise of themachine (e. g. to suit work in which the parts being sewn together are of unequal thickness) by rotation of a sleeve nut I23 which is threaded in the horn bearing 2'Iand which bears at its lower end upon a shoulder on the spindle25, and at its upper end against the underside of a balance weight I2'I which is pinned to the spindle 25 and serves to balance the horn about the axis of the pins 33. The horn is however not able to yield heightwise relatively to the bearing 2'I. and is, therefore, not liable to be forced upwardly by the work piercing action of the rising awl.

It is frequently desired, for example, when changing over from work of one thickness to work of another thickness, to adjust the angular position of the external work support relatively to the direction of the path of movement of the needle and awl to vary the inclination at which the stitches of the seam uniting the parts of the work extend through the parts to ensure that the parts will be sewn together as securely as possible.

In the illustrative embodiment, the horn may also conveniently be adjustable to allow the horn always to occupy a constant angular position relatively to the external work support and, moreover, the horn is connected to the external work support so that adjustment of both the horn and the external support can be effected simultaneously.

For this purpose the arms 35 which carry the ring 3| by which the horn bearing 21 is supported, are supported by two bifurcated yokes I29, I3I, the yoke I29 being secured to two short laterally extending and coaxial shafts I33 mountedin fixed bearings in the machine head and the yoke I3I being freely pivoted on a laterally extending shaft I35 also mounted in fixed bearings in'the machine head. The connection between the arms 35 and the'yoke I29 comprises the pin 65 aforementioned, and the connection between the arms and the yoke I3I comprises a pin I31. The yokes I29 and I3I, though normally held in a fixed position by clamping means hereinafter described, may be released to allow the horn to be canted upwardly or downwardly by the operator, the yokes pivoting, as the horn is adjusted,

' about the axes of the shafts I33, I35. The length of the yoke I29 between the axis of the pin 65 and the axis of the shafts I33 is greater than the length of the yoke I 3i between the axis of 'the pin I3? and the axis of the shaft I35 and, as rearward pressure is exerted by the operator on the horn, when the yokes are free to pivot, the axis of 1 the pin 65 will move rearwardly and downwardly in an arc concentric about the axis of the shafts I33 while the pin I31 will move rearwardly and downwardly an equal distance along an arc concentric with the axis of the shaft I35. The result of the combined rearward and downward movements of the pins 65 and I3? will be to cause the axis of the pins 33 by which the ring 3I (and therefore the horn) is supported to move rearwardly and slightly downwardly in an are which is concentric (when the rolls 3?, 39 are in engagement with work of average thickness) about a point hereinafter more particularly referred to which is situated on the lower face of the lower work engaging roll 39. Movement of the pins 33 rearwardly along this path I will cause the work engaging rolls 3 1, 39 to change their angular position without substantial bodily movement, the rear side of the of the needle and awl through the work and,

therefore, will cause the seam. uniting the two parts to emerge through the part positioned against the roll 31' a greater distance from the corner formed by the abutting edges of the two parts than the distance from said corner at which it emerges through the part positioned against the lower roll 39.

Conversely angular adjustments of the rolls in the reverse direction effected by pulling on the horn, when the rolls are in an angular position such as is above described, will cause the distance from the corner at which the seams emerge from the two parts of the work to become either more nearly equal, or as desired, precisely equal.

For locking the horn in any position to which it may have been adjusted in the manner above indicated, there is threaded on the right hand end of the shaft I35 a rotary hand lever I39 which, upon rotation in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure l, springs slightly towards each other two upstanding lugs I4I on the machine frame through which the shaft I35 passes and between which the yoke I3I fits closely. 'Ihe slight springing together of these lugs causes themto bind on the opposite ends of the yoke and holds it firmly in position against rotation about the shaft I35. In order to prevent rotation of the shaft as the hand lever I39 is rotated, the left hand end of the shaft has a head I42 (Figure 2) formed on it in a notch in which a fixed pin I43 engages.

As hereinbefore' stated, the external work support I is connected to the horn so that when the horn is angularly adjusted in the manner above indicated, the external work is also adjusted in the same sense and to a like extent so that the relative positions of the rolls 37, 39 and the external work support remain unaltered.

To this end the work support I has projecting rearwardly from its right hand end an arm I45 which is pivoted on a short transverse pivot pin I41. The left hand end of the work support has a lug projecting rearwardly from it which is pivoted on a pin, not shown, which is coaxial with the pin I41. Each of these two supporting pins for the work support is secured in an ear I49 formed at the upper end of a bracket I53 which projects forwardly from a vertical sleeve I55. Each of the sleeves I55 is mounted on the lower end portion of a vertical shaft I57 positioned in fixed bearings in the machine head. The sleeves are supported on the shafts to impart work feeding movements to the external work support as an arm secured on'the right hand one of the sleeves I55 is oscillated through the members 3, 5 and I, previously indicated.

Adjustment of the horn in the manner previously indicated is caused, through the consequent rocking of the yokes I29, I 3! to effect an angular adjustment of the work support I. For this purpose the right hand one of the two shafts I33 on which the yoke I29 is secured has fixed on it a short rearwardly extending arm it! which carries a pin I53. The pin I63 is coupled by a rod I65 to a block I61 positioned behind the right hand end of the work support, which block is slidable along an arcuate guideway 259. The rear end of the arm I45 extending from the external work support is flattened, as indicated in Figure 3, and is received between two ears I1I projecting laterally from the block I31. Adjustment of the horn will, therefore, through the connections described with the yoke 29, cause an angular adjustment of the external work support to take place about the pin I41, which adjustment will take place in the same direction as that in which the horn is adjusted, that is to say, that if the horn is adjusted in a direction to cause the pins 33 on which the ring 3i is supported to move in a clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 1, the external work support will also move in a clockwise direction about the axis of the pin I41.

As hereinbefore stated, adjustment of the horn will cause the pins 33 to move in an arc which is concentric (when the rolls 31, 39 are in engagement with work of average thickness) about a point situated on the lower face of the lower work-engaging roll 39 and it is, at least, desirable that angular adjustment of the external work support should, in spite of the fact that it is adjustable about the axis of the pin I41, in fact be vertically adjustable about the same pivot as that about which the pins 33 (and therefore the rolls 3 33) move in order that the work engaging faces 43, 45 of the external work support may always remain parallel to the rear sides of the work engaging faces of the rolls, 31, 39, whatever angular adjustment of the horn and external work support is affected.

To enable the adjustment of the external work support to be carried out in this manner, means is provided for giving a vertical movement to the pin I31 and to the pin which is coaxial with it at the same time as the external work support I p is rocked about these pins by adjustment of the horn. The said means comprises a pin I13 secured eccentrically on each of the shafts I33 to which the yoke I29 is secured and these pins carry blocks H which engage in rectangular grooves formed in the upper ends of the two vertical shafts I51 aforesaid by which the external work support is carried. The pins I13 and the pin I63 which is coupled to the sliding block 831 are both provided on the same side of the axis of the shafts I33 so that they all move upwardly or downwardly together. Assuming the yokes I29, I 3I to be rocked rearwardly by pushing on the horn, the external work support will be rocked in a clockwise direction about the axis of the pin I41 and the pin I41 (and the pin which is coaxial with it) will at the same time be lowered, thus causing the canting of the work support to take place about a virtual centre which occupies the same position on the lower face of the roll 39 as that which is occupied by the point about which the pins 33 move during the adjustment of the horn.

Conversely forward swinging movement of the yokes i3i effected by pulling on the horn causes counterclockwise canting movement of the external work support about the axis of the pin M1 accompanied by a rising movement of the pin (and the one which is coaxial with it) thus also causing the work support to cant about the said virtual centre.

The arcuate guideway I69 on which the block I 51 slides is concentric about the said virtual centre so that effective contact over large areas between the ears l1! and the rear end of the arm M5 is maintained throughout the movement of the block.

The particular point on the lower face of the roll 39 about which the horn and the external work support are adjustable is the centre of the face indicated at Z in Figure 3.

By arranging for the external support (and the horn) to be angularly adjustable about this point, adjustment of the external work support in a clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 3, will cause the point A in the lower work supporting face of the external work support at which the awl first pierces the work to move downwardly somewhat in a direction closely following the path X which the point of the awl follows in passing through the part of the work supported on the face 65, thus ensuring that when such adjustment of the work support has been made, the awl will pierce this part of the work about the same distance from the corner formed between the faces 43, of the work support as it would if the ad H justment had not been made. Such adjustment of the external work support also causes that part of the work pressed against the upwardly extending face 43 of the work support by the upper roll 31 to swing upwardly and rearwardly somewhat so that the awl emerges from this part of the work further from the corner formed between the two work engaging faces 43, 45 of the external work support and, as the needle follows the awl path, causes the stitches uniting the two parts of the work to extend from the points on the lower face of the lower part of the work at which the awl enters this part to points on the outer face of the other part of the work, which latter points will lie further from the corner formed between the outer faces of the two parts of the work than they would if the adjustment of the work support had not been made. By adjusting the external work support angularly in the opposite direction, the stitches uniting the two parts can be caused to extend from the points on the lower face of the lower part of the work at which the awl enters this part to points on the outer face of the other parts of the work which lie close to the corner formed between the outer faces of the two parts of the work. In order to vary the distances from the apex of the corner formed between the outer faces of the parts of the work being sewn together at which the awl and needle enter both the parts, while keeping the direction of the stitches through the parts the same, the external work support may be adjusted bodily in a substantially horizontal direction towards or away from the axis about which the needle and awl rock.

For this purpose, the vertical shafts I51 on which the sleeves I55 which carry the external work support are mounted have their lower end portions formed eccentrically and the sleeves 255 are mounted on these eccentric portions. The upper ends of the two shafts have rearwardly extending arms I 11 secured to them, and these arms are coupled together by a link N9, the right hand one of the arms I11 having a forwardly projecting boss I8i formed on it in which a stem I83 having a hand nut at its forward end is threaded. Movement of the stem 533 towards the right will turn the shafts 51 in a direction to draw the external work support rearwardly while mov ment of the stem towards the left will cause the i-i' stationary, by rotation 8 n F; i

work table to he moved forwardly. In order to lock th external support in any position to which it may have been adjusted, a clamping shoe its is slidaioly mounted in the rear .end of the boss 58! and the link H9 is formed with a curved face i??? against which the clamping 151103 585 can be caused to bend to hold it and the shafts of the threaded stem Hi3.

From the description above given, it will be clear that, if, for example, in changing from one class of work to another in the illustrative machine above d scribed, it is desired'to vary the angle at which the stitches pass through the work, this may be done by adj lsting the angular I properi'y various kinds of work, for sewing which,

it is desired to adjust the angular position of the external support, a state of affairs which wouid not erupt if the horn were not angularly adjustable, ii whichicase it would, at least certain instances, be neicessaryto substitute for; the nonadjustable horn a horn of different shape, Further, since thelho-rn and work support are couf'; pied together so that they are adjustable simultaneously and to like amounts the danger of uni equai adjustment between the work Iengaging members of the horn and the wbrk support which would be likely to occur if the horn and work support were separately adjustable, is'obviated.

Ihe nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and mechanism embodying the several features of the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externaily, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, a carrier in which the horn is mounted to rotate. about an axis passing through the work engaging end of the hornfand means supporting the carrier, permitting an adjustment of the carrier with the horn about an axis parallel to the line of feed and proximity to the sewing point.

2. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articleshaving, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a Work entering horn provided at its "inner end with an internal work support; a carrier in which the horn is mounted to move'jtowards and from the external work support, and means supporting the carrier, permitting an adjustment of the carrier with the horn about an axis parallel to the line of feed and in proximity the sewing point.

3. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly dispsed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, 'a carrier in which the horn is mounted to rotate about an axis passing through the work engaging end the horn and to move towards and froin the external work support, and means supporting the. carrier permitting an adjustment of the carrier with the horn about an axis parallel' to the line of feed and in proximity to the sewing point.

4. "A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to'engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, at work entering horjn provided at its inner end with a rotatable internal work support, a carrier in which the horn is mounted to rotate about an axis in aiignment with the axis of the rotatable interna i Work support, and means supporting the carrier permitting an adjustment of the 7 carrier with the horn about an axis parallel to the iine of feed and in proximity tothe sewing p n r 541A machine for sewing suitcases or likefar ticles having, in combination, a work support having anguiarly disposed surfaces to engagefthe worii externaliy, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, a carrier in which the horn is mounted to rotate about an axis passing through the work engaging end "of the horn and to permit bodily movement of the internal work support in the line of feed, and means sup porting the carrier permitting an adjustment of the carrier with the horn about an axis parallel to theline of feed and in proximity to the sewing p t- V 6. A machine fo-rsewing suitcasesror like arhaving angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and 'awlarranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, and a work enteringrhorn provided at its inner end with a rotatable internal work support comprising frusto-conical portions arranged base to base and adapted to press the work against the angularly disposed surfaces of the external work support. 1 fi 7; A machine for sewing suitcases or like arhaving, in combination, a work support g angularly disposed surfaces to engage; the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to more across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with a rotatable internal work suppprt' comprising frusto-conical portions arrangedgbase to base and adapted to press the work against the angularly disposed surfaces of the external work support, and a carrier in which the horn is mounted to rotate about an axis in alignment with the axis of the rotatable internal work support.

8 A machine for sewingsuitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with a rotatable internal work support comprising frusto-conical portions arranged base to base and adapted to press the work against the. angularly disposed surfaces of the external work support, one of said frusto-conical portions having a larger base diameter than the other.

40 ticles havinggin combination, a work support 9. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, and means for supporting said work support permitting an angular adjustment of said support about an axis extending parallel to the line of feed adjacent one of said work engaging surfaces at one side of the apex of the angle formed by said surfaces.

10. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, and means for supporting said work support permitting an angular adjustment of said support about an axis parallel to the line of feed and lying adjacent one of said work supporting surfaces on the opposite side of the awl path from the apex of the angle formed by said surfaces.

11. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, and means for supporting said work support permitting an angular adjustment about an axis parallel to the line of feed, and a bodily vertical adjustment.

12. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support havin angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, and connections between the horn and the external work support for causing a simultaneous angular adjustment of the horn and work support about substantially the same axis extending parallel to the line of feed in proximity to the sewing point.

13. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support and means for simultaneously adjusting said horn and external work support angularly about substantially the same axis extending parallel to the line of feed in proximity to the sewing point.

14. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, a carrier in which the horn is mounted, and means supporting the carrier comprising spaced pivotally mounted members pivotally connected to the carrier, said members being of unequal length whereby a movement of said members causes an adjustment of the carrier with the horn about an axis parallel to the line of feed and in proximity to the sewing point.

15. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, at work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, a carrier in which the horn is movably mounted to permit bodily movement of the internal work support back and forth in the line of feed, and means under the control of the operator acting on the horn to move the internal work support in the direction of feed beyond its normal position and for maintaining the internal work support in this position during a plurality of stitch forming cycles of the machine.

16. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, a carrier in which the horn is movably mounted to permit bodily movement of the internal work support back and forth in the line of feed, a stop engaging the horn to limit the backward movement of the internal work support in the line of feed, and means under the control of the operator for actuating the stop to move the internal work support in the direction of feed and maintain it in an advanced position during a plurality of stitch forming cycles of the machine.

17. A machine for sewing suitcases or like articles having, in combination, a work support having angularly disposed surfaces to engage the work externally, a needle and awl arranged to move across the corner formed by said surfaces, a work entering horn provided at its inner end with an internal work support, means for supporting the horn permitting a movement of the horn towards and from the external work support, and a cam and suitable connections including a spring for forcing the horn yieldingly towards the external work support and for relieving the pressure during each stitch forming cycle.

JOSEPH GOULDBOURN. 

